Hawthorn wants to repair relations after racism saga – Australia Associated Press

After Hawthorn ended the racism saga, the AFL club is determined to find the best way to repair relationships with affected former Indigenous players.

Retired premiership star Cyril Rioli was the lead applicant in a petition lodged in the Federal Court in July, along with his wife Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli, former players Carl Peterson and Jermaine Miller-Lewis, partner Montanah-Rae Lewis and the former Hawthorn player. Indigenous liaison officer Leon Egan.

The claim included allegations of unlawful discrimination, including family separations and pressure to terminate a pregnancy.

Last Wednesday night, the parties released a joint statement confirming that they had resolved the case after two days of mediation.

In the statement, it was stated that the agreement was reached “without determining the claims of the parties”.

Hawthorn said they hope to welcome players and their families back to the club.

Asked how Hawthorn will repair these relationships, chairman Andy Gowers said: “There are multiple answers to this question and we are open to them all.

“But I think that’s where the human side of things starts.

“And one of the keys was that we focus on what unites us and what we really want to do, without talking outside of school; the last thing I wanted, and the last thing our club wanted, was to reach an agreement that didn’t require repairing those relationships.”

“So I’m pretty hopeful that this will happen.

“… The last thing we wanted was a solution that did not require repairing relations. “This is very critical.”

Speaking for the first time since the agreement, Gowers could not go into details of the mediation but said it had been an “incredibly special few days” and “meant a lot”.

“This was important because it was the first time we had the opportunity to sit together,” he said.

Allegations of racism against the club and former manager Alastair Clarkson, former assistant Chris Fagan and former welfare manager Jason Burt were first made public in September 2022.

Current North Melbourne coach Clarkson, Brisbane Lions title-winning mentor Fagan and Burt have vehemently denied any wrongdoing, while an AFL investigation last May found no adverse findings against the trio.

Gowers did not say whether the club would have to pay Clarkson and Fagan’s legal costs.

“I’m not going to talk specifically about the financial side of this,” he said.

“The only thing I would say about this issue is this: There are a number of steps that we need and need to take.

“You heard and saw an important one last week. There are others we need to take.

“So ongoing discussions continue. Nothing has been decided on that front, but we will continue the dialogue.”

Gowers reiterated that Hawthorn is focused on “walking together” to move forward.

“We’re talking about the people of Hawthorn, some of whom don’t feel very good about their time here or their relationship here over a period of time,” he added.

“And we’re doing everything we can to repair those relationships and get people to heal.

“Because for me, the biggest thing about this issue was the human suffering.

“So we’re doing the best we can to fix this, to repair the bridges, to allow people to heal, to move on with their lives, and to walk forward, to walk together. That’s the whole point.”

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